Process and apparatus for preparing staple or fibrous material for spinning



June 17, 1930. E. GMINDER 1,754,074

' PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PREPARING STAPLE OR FIBROUS MATERIAL FORSPINNING Filed Oct. 25; 1928 INVENTOR Emil mz'nder I BY MWWW

ATTORNEY Patented June 17, 1939 UNE EMIL GMINDER, ()F REUTLINGEN,GERMANY PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PREPARING STAPLE R FIBROUS MATERIALFOR SPINNING Application filed October 25, 1928, Serial No.

The fibres which protrude from loose fibre structures, such as lap,roving, fibre bands, etc. often interfere with the subse quenttreatment. This does not present serious difliculty with soft, shortfibres, such for instance as cotton, but with long, rough and harderfibres, such as raw untreated fibres, these protruding ends interferewith the proper spinning.

The object of my invention is to provide for the smoothing down of theseprotruding ends without effecting a twisting or rotation of the mainfibre body of the structure.

Although the invention is applicable to various forms of fibrestructures, particularly those which are to be spun, I will refer tosuch structures as lap and use the word lap in a broad sense to includerovings and other analogous fibre bands.

In carrying out my invention the fibres protruding from the edges of thelap are mechanically flattened down during the formation of the lap.

For carrying out the invention I provide a rotating tool which ispreferably funnel shaped and through which the lap is passed.

This funnel is of such diameter at its smaller or delivery end that itwill contact with and act on the protruding fibre ends at the edges ofthe lap, but will not offer such resistance as will cause the lap to berotated about its axis as is the case with a spinning tube. It isimportant that the lap is not rotated during this smoothing downoperation.

In the accompanying drawings I have itius rated one embodiment of myinvention.

in these drawings: I l is a side elevation of the rotating 1 tool orfunnel with conventional representation of delivery and receiving means;and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the funnel alone.

In the construction illustrated the lap or 45 hand of fibres passes fromfeeding means it) to delivering means 11, these being conventionallyillustrated as. rollers. Between the two there is provided an annularmember 12 which is in the form of a comparatively short funnel. Theupper or receiving 314,894, and in Germany November 2, 1927.

end is of a diameter equal to or slightly greater than the width of thelap which is passed therethrough, while the smaller or delivery end isof such diameter that it may effect a very slight contraction orreduction in the width of the lap.

This funnel is rotated at a speed which depends upon the rate of travelof the lap and sufficient to mechanically smooth down the fibre endsprotruding from the edges and bring them closely adjacent to the mainmass of fibres. To facilitate this the upper or larger end of the funnelmay be provided with a plurality of ribs or projections 13. These do notextend to the lower end and they do not extend in radially to a distanceequal to the taper of the funnel. In other words the circle of the innerends of these projections is larger than the outlet end of the funnel asshown particularly in Fig. 2.

Thus they catch the loose fibre ends and turn them in a helicaldirection along the surface of the body of the fibres, but do not engagethe body itself to such an extent as will cause rotation or twisting ofthe lap.

Any short fibres which project from the opposite surfaces of the lapwill not be affected by the rotating action, but they will be smootheddown by the rollers 11, which latter also press down the fibre endswhich had protruded from the edges of the lap and have been folded overby the rotating action.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of preparing lap for spinning which includes the step ofrotating a member around the lap to smooth down the fibre endsprotruding from the edges, but without effecting rotation of the body 0the lap.

2. The process of preparing lap for spinning which includes the step ofapplying a circumferentially acting force to the edges of the lap duringthe endwise movement of the latter, said force being insufiicient toeffect a rotation or twisting of the body of the lap.

3. The process of preparing lap for spinning which includes moving thelap endwise through a rotating funnel, the outlet of Which is of suchsize in respect to the size of the lap that it acts only on theprotruding fibre ends and does not impart a twisting action to the lap.V c

4. An apparatus for preparing a lap for subsequent treatment Whichincludes a rotatable funnel havingitsinlet end approximating the size ofthe lap and its outlet end but slightly smaller.

5. An apparatus for preparing a lap for spinning which includes arotatable funnel having inwardly extending ribs or projectionsat thelarger or inlet end, the spacing of said ribs or projections from theaxis being more than the radius of the smaller or outlet end. r

Signed at Stuttgart, Germany, this twelfth day of September, A. 11 1928.

EMILGMINDER.

